
Fraud victims among top crypto ATM users, Australian regulator says
Australia's financial crimes monitoring agency said on Wednesday that it has identified 90 scam victims, money mules and suspected offenders as the top crypto ATM users in the country, amid efforts to address crimes enabled by digital currency.A nationwide operation led by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) examined the most prolific crypto ATM users in each state, and based on the transaction values, identified cases likely linked to scams or fraud."We suspected that a large volume of crypto ATM transactions were probably illicit, but disturbingly, our law enforcement partners found that almost all of the transactions we referred involved victims rather than criminals," AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said.In one instance, AUSTRAC identified a woman in her 70s who had deposited more than A$430,000 into crypto ATMs after falling victim to romance and investment scams Earlier this month, AUSTRAC had placed conditions and limits on crypto ATM providers after flagging compliance concerns, with the number of active machines exceeding 1,800.Lately, the Australian corporate regulator has been cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges as well, with Binance and Blockchain Global coming under scrutiny.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Dollar extends losses as Fed rate cut hopes and political pressure grow
The dollar fell for a second straight session on Wednesday, a day after a US inflation reading increased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month, and renewed pressure from President Donald Trump for lower rates added to the sell-off. The dollar index, measuring the currency against a basket of peers, fell 0.2 per cent to 97.81, its lowest since July 28, extending its 0.5 per cent drop on Tuesday. US consumer prices increased marginally in July, data showed on Tuesday, in line with forecasts and as the pass-through from Trump's sweeping tariffs to goods prices has so far been limited. Investors priced in a 98 per cent chance the central bank would ease rates next month, according to LSEG data. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a "series of rate cuts," and said the Fed could kick off the policy rate easing with a 50 basis point cut. The day before, US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticised Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not easing rates sooner, had added to the pressure on the Fed. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the president was considering a lawsuit against Powell in relation to his management of renovations at the central bank's Washington headquarters. "I think there is quite significant pressure on the Fed from the political side of Washington to get moving on interest rates," Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank, said. Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank, said these political developments carried echoes of autocratic countries, where heads of statistics agencies or central banks are replaced and critical data series often discontinued or manipulated. "I'm not saying that this will necessarily happen here. But the developments of the last few days and weeks do not exactly fill me with optimism about the future, or the US dollar," Pfister said. Trump also hit out at Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, saying the bank had been wrong to predict US tariffs would hurt the economy. Trump questioned whether Solomon should lead the Wall Street institution. The dollar's weakness supported the euro and sterling. The single currency was last up 0.3 per cent to $1.1705, briefly hitting its highest since July 28. Similarly, the British currency rose 0.5 per cent to $1.3572, briefly hitting its highest since July 24. Britain's jobs market weakened again, though wage growth stayed strong, according to data on Tuesday, underscoring why the Bank of England is so cautious about cutting interest rates. The Australian dollar was up 0.3 per cent to $0.6550, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.5 per cent to $0.5982. The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday cut interest rates as expected, and signalled further policy easing might be needed to meet its inflation and employment goals as the economy lost some momentum. In cryptocurrencies, ether scaled a nearly four-year high of $4,734.47. "Ethereum's quiet breakout is being fuelled by real-world adoption and capital confidence," said Gracie Lin, Singapore CEO of crypto exchange OKX. "On our platform, ETH has now overtaken BTC as the most traded asset over the past month." (Reporting by Joice Alves and Rae Wee; Editing by Kate Mayberry, Giles Elgood and Barbara Lewis) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Infosys sets up JV with Telstra; to acquire 75% stake in Versent Group
Information technology (IT) services major Infosys on Wednesday announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) with Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications and technology company. This will allow Infosys to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cloud and digital solutions for Australian businesses. Infosys will acquire 75 per cent of shareholding in the Versent group — a wholly owned subsidiary of the Telstra group — that delivers cloud and digital transformation. Infosys is investing Australian dollar 233.25 million (around ₹1,300 crore) in the JV. The IT services major will have operational control while Telstra will continue to retain the remaining 25 per cent minority stake in the Versent group. The formation of the JV will accelerate Infosys' strategy to help clients navigate their AI journey, and this collaboration will propel AI-enabled cloud and digital solutions for Australian businesses, the company said. With a team of 650 engineers, advisors, and strategists spread across Australia, the Versent group strengthens Infosys' local presence. The Versent group primarily serves large blue-chip organisations with established presence in government & education, financial institutions, energy, and the utilities sector. The JV comes on the back of a multi-year relationship with Telstra. In 2024, Infosys had announced a strategic multi-year collaboration with the firm to accelerate its software engineering and IT transformation journey, and enhance customer experience. Further, in 2025, Infosys announced a collaboration with Telstra International to advance technology leadership, drive innovation, and support Telstra's new Connected Future 30 strategy. This JV is another key step in strengthening the strategic collaboration between the two organisations to further the technology transformation agenda for enterprises across the region. Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said: 'Our collaboration with Infosys reflects our confidence in the value we can unlock together. Their global scale, deep industry knowledge, culture of innovation, and service excellence will be instrumental in accelerating the Versent group's growth and impact across the region.' Oliver Camplin-Warner, group executive for Telstra Enterprise, added: 'We're excited about what's ahead as we deepen our strategic collaboration with Infosys. By combining the strengths of our three businesses, we're creating a unique proposition that will help Australian enterprises grow and innovate in today's fast-moving, AI-driven digital landscape.' The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2025-26 (H2FY26), subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.


New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Infosys to acquire 75% stake in Australia's Versent Group for Rs 1,300 crore
NEW DELHI: India's second-largest IT firm Infosys announced on Wednesday that it is acquiring a 75% stake in Versent Group, a leading digital transformation solution provider and wholly owned subsidiary of Australia's Telstra Group, for $153 million or about Rs 1,300 crore. The deal will form a joint venture between Infosys and Telstra for collaboration to propel AI-enabled cloud and digital solutions for Australian businesses. While Infosys will have operational control, Telstra will continue to retain a 25% minority stake in Versent Group, reflecting its confidence in the shared potential for growth and customer value, combining Telstra's connectivity, Versent's local digital engineering expertise, and Infosys' global scale, said Infosys in a statement. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of FY 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys, said 'We are excited to bring Infosys Topaz™ to enable transformative AI-first capabilities to complement Versent Group's cloud-first digital foundation. Expanding our trusted collaboration with Telstra, with whom we share a valued relationship, unveils a new opportunity to further accelerate the innovation agenda for enterprises across the region.'